Metropolitan Herman sends letters of condolence after London terrorist attack
— In response to the terrorist attacks in London on Thursday, July 6, 2005, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, sent messages of concern and condolence to His Grace, Bishop Basil of Surozh; The Right Honourable Tony Blair, British Prime Minister; The Most Reverend Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury; The Rt. Rev. John Carew Chartres, Bishop of London; and Sir David Manning, Ambassador of Great Britain to the United States.
“It was with great shock and deep sorrow that I awoke on the morning of Thursday, July 6, 2005, to learn of the terrorist attacks in London,” Metropolitan Herman wrote. “Once again, the forces of evil have been unleashed, claiming the lives of so many innocent individuals, injuring hundreds of others, and disrupting the quest for ‘the peace of the whole world,’ for which Christians around the world pray continuously and fervently.
“The sense of loss that we share with you at this time is not unlike that we felt on September 11, 2001,” he continued. “Once again, we are reminded that we live in a fallen world, in which love has grown cold and the hearts of many have become hardened to the One Who Who is Love Itself. If there is any consolation in such tragic circumstances, it is found in the comforting words of Our Loving Saviour: ‘Be not afraid.’ In Him alone do we find the ‘consolation of the afflicted’ and the hope of victory over all that dishonors and distorts His creation. And to Him alone do we turn for refuge in a world in which the irrational and unjust so often appear to be the “norm” and the love of God so often seems beyond reach.”
Metropolitan Herman assured Bishop Basil, Mr. Blair, Archbishop Williams, Bishop Chartres, and Mr. Manning of his personal prayers and those of the members of the Holy Synod of Bishops, the clergy and monastics, and the faithful of the Orthodox Church in America.
“Your suffering is our suffering; your loss is our loss,” Metropolitan Herman concluded. “May the love of our all merciful Saviour fill our hearts now and in the days to come, and may the consolation He so freely offers fill us with the faith and hope our world so desperately needs in the face of evil.”